1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sealed electrical cable penetration and a method for production thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In motor vehicles, it is increasingly required that control electronics, accommodated in a housing, such as, for example, gear motor drives for window lifts, sunroofs, or the like, be integrated with and connected to the engine and/or transmission, the control electronics mounted on a circuit carrier that is required to be shielded from the oils used in engines and transmissions, as these oils contain chemically extremely aggressive additives. At the same time,however, electrical conductors must penetrate the shielding to allow engine or transmission components to be controlled or supplied via the control electronics.
A connector system that is suitable for use in such conditions is known from European patent EP 0 513 263 B1. Here, a flexible film with electrical traces is led through between a closure support and a housing and establishes an electrical connection between a component inside the housing and a component outside the housing. To accomplish sealing between the flexible film and the closure part or the housing, the flexible film must be surrounded by a seal. The sealing of the closure part with respect to the housing and the film is relatively complex or cannot be safely guaranteed in all cases.
To simplify the manufacturing and assembly process, DE 197 42 178 C1 discloses how the conductor support can be introduced directly into the housing wall through which the traces are to be routed. However, this can cause problems due to excessively high thermal loading of the substrate material. Some of these problems can sometimes be circumvented by selecting an appropriately heat-resistant, but more cost-intensive material such as polyamide.
This object can be achieved by a device for sealing an electrical cable penetration through the wall of a housing, wherein the housing has a wall defining a penetration opening therethrough, the device including a flexible conductor support made of plastic and including electrical conductors embedded therein, the plastic providing insulation of said electrical conductor. The flexible conductor support is inserted through the penetration opening and sealed and mechanically fixed therein by a conductor support seal. The conductor support seal is made from plastic and molded directly onto the flexible conductor support and the housing.
For the manufacture of the cable penetration according to the invention, the mass temperature of the sealing material can be kept lower than that of the previously injection-moldable housing and therefore an inexpensive material with lower temperature resistance, in particular a thermoplastic, can be selected. Furthermore, a high degree of leak-proofness between an opening-side housing edge and a housing cover to be placed thereupon can be ensured, as the interposed sealing layer exhibits a high degree of homogeneity over its entire sealing surface area because of the absence of the conductors encapsulated in their own separate penetration opening. The possibility of molding the conductor support and the seal or sealing layer in and on respectively in a single operation as well as the possibility of injection-molding the dimensionally complicated housing without simultaneously molding in the conductor support results in a significant and, particularly for automated production of a mass-produced article, advantageous reduction in manufacturing costs.